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J. B. LAUGHTON.

COLOR 0R INK PAD. No. 879,793. Patented Mar. 20, 1888.

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NITED STATES PATENT rrrcn.

JOSEPH B. LAUGHTON, OF BROOKLYN, ASSIGNOR TO JOHN I. HOLLY, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

COLOR OR INK PAD.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 379,793, dated March 20, 1888.

Application tiled May 9. 1887. Serial No. 237,514. (No model.)

To aZZ whom, it may concern:

Be it known that I, J osnrn B. LAUGHTON, a citizen of the United States, residing at Brooklyn, in the county of Kings and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Color or Ink Pads; and I do hereby .declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

My invention relates to improvements in ink or color pads for hand-stamps in which a container of felt is used for the color, and a feeder consisting of another felt or equivalent layer is used for the solvent substance, as in my patent of November 2, 1886, No. 351,928, which improvements consist, first, in a new arrange ment of the container and feeder with relation to the stamp and to the hygroscopic properties of the feeder; second, in an improved contrivance for the use of different colors in one pad, and, third, in a contrivance for mounting the pad on a base with a removable cover, all as hereinafter fully described, reference being made to the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure l isa plan view of my improved pad placed in an open case. Fig. 2 is a longitudinal sectional elevation of the pad on line as x of Fig. 1. Fig. 8 is a section of the pad and the removable cover placed on a base, which is represented in side elevation, with an elas tie and absorbent top portion,which is shown in section. Fig. 4 is an end elevation of the pad as arranged in Fig. 3. Fig. 5 is an enlarged detail cross-sectional view.

I use two plies of felt, a b, one upon another, as in my former patent, to carry the ink or color and the solvent material respectively; but in this case it is the upper ply, a, that is the container of the ink or color, and the lower one, Z, that is charged with glycerine and alum or other hygroscopic solvent, this arrangement being in reverse of that of my said former patent.

The ink is affixed by preparing it in a paste and pressing it by rolls or other means adapted to thoroughly incorporate it in and throughout the interstices of the fabric. In addition to these two pads, I now apply a textile fabric, 0, over the upper pad, and another one, (I, between the two pads.

The upper textile fabric is preferably of cotton cloth, and is made large enough to wrap over the ends and sides and lap under them, and a plain backing-plate, e, of metal, wood, cloth, or other suitable substance, adapted to bind all the several parts and said backingplate together by the margins folded under and cemented to the bottom thereof, the backing-plate being to prevent the escape of the solvent substances through the bottom of the pad. These improvements add materially to the efficiency of my color-pad, making it more lasting by preventing waste of ink through the bottom and by giving too much to the stamp, and also by effecting a more uniform supply of ink.

Thesolvent i n the lower pad absorbs moisture of the atmosphere through the upper one when the air is heavily charged, and gives it Off again through the container in dry condition of the atmosphere, and thus effects greater uniformity in the ink-supply.

The arrangement enables much thicker fabrics to be used, which contain more substance and yield it more uniformly to the stamps than when the container is placed below the feeder.

\Vhile I prefer to employ felt material for the pad underneath the container for holding the moisture-absorbing substance, I do not mean to limit myself to it, for various substances may be used with good results, as shear-flocks, chopped sponge, flax, glue, gum, gelatine, and other absorbents that will absorb and contain moisture when confined or stored under the color-container.

This improved pad may be used in a metallic or other case, 9, as commonly arranged; but in some cases I prefer to attach it to a wood or other base plate, h, having a removable cover, i, and in such case I provide the base with a felt or other elastic and absorbent top, j, larger than the area of the pad and cover, and on the margin of which the cover rests, as shown in Figs. 3 and 4, so that any color wasting from the pad or on the edges of the cover will be absorbed and the base will be kept clean. Said elastic top is also employed for a simple and efficient means of connecting the padto the base by cementing or gluing the bottom of it to the said elastic top, to which it may thus be fastened more effectually than to the hard and inelastic material of the base. Said elastic top is also employed to relieve the hand and wrist of the operator of the shocks,which are severe and injurious when the stamp is used continuously and the base is inelastic. This arrangement of the marginal extension of the absorbent top of thebase larger than the pad and the cover is useful for protecting the base from being smeared with color that may escape from the pad, whether the cover be hinged or be used without hinges; but it is more particularly designed for the latter arrangement, in which the lower edges of the cover are more apt to be smeared by contact with the pad sometimes when carelessly handled, and it is specially for such as have the pad located on the surface of the base and being higher than the surface.

The cover 12 is made with an opening, k, through each end, and may have others in the sides, if desired, for allowing a circulation of air, so as not to interrupt the hygroscopic action of the feeder while covering the pad to protect it from dust.

I am aware that a pad has been made with vertical partitions projecting above the sur face of the pad and separating different sections of the pad for different colors, the partitions corresponding with certain divisions of the type; but such is not my contrivance, which has for its object the provision of different colors in a pad of uninterrupted surface, so that different colors may be printed by each line of type in a large stamp, and at the same time smaller stamps may receive only one color by the same pad.

What I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. The combination, in a color-pad, of two plies of felt placed one above another, of which the upper one is charged with ink and constitutes the ink-container, and the lower one 7 is charged with solvent material and constitutes the holder and feeder of the same, substantially as described.

2. The combination, in a color-pad, of two plies of felt placed one above another, of which the upper one is charged with ink and constitutes the ink-container, and the lower one is charged withvsolvent material and constitutes the holder and feeder of the same, a textile fabric over the ink-container, and also a textile fabric between the container and feeder, substantially as described.

3. In an inking-pad for hand-stamps having the pad placed on and being higher than the surface of the base, the combination,with said pad and base and with the cover, of an absorbent top of said base interposed between it and the pad and having marginal extensions larger than the pad and receiving the edges .of the cover, which rest on it when closed.

4. The combination, in an ink-pad, of two plies of felt placed one above another, of which the upper one is charged with ink and constitutes the ink-container, and the lower one is charged with solvent material and constitutes the feeder of the same, the backing-plate,

and the textile fabric covering the felt and folded under and attached to the backing-plate, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

JOSEPH B. LAUGHTON. Witnesses:

W. J. MORGAN, S'. H., MORGAN. 

